The invention relates to devices for managing electrical consumption.
The problem of the balance between electrical production and consumption arises continually on account of variations in consumption and the impossibility of storing electrical energy. This constraint requires that players in the electrical system avail themselves of means for adjusting production and consumption at any time and not only during periods of peak consumption.
To address this problem, the Applicant has developed the notion of diffuse curtailment, a principle which consists in tailoring consumption by interrupting in a synchronized and temporary manner the operation of certain electrical equipment without the users being aware of it.
Accordingly, devices are therefore needed which are capable of measuring the instantaneous consumption of the usage of each site, and/or capable of suspending the supply on command.
Achieving such devices is all the more complex as they must be placed in electrical installations of restricted size (such as for example the electrical boards of homes or tertiary sites), thus implying very significant constraints.
Regulatory constraints arise, in addition to these dimensioning constraints. Indeed, it is not permitted to use active cooling means in these devices, since a fault with these means would risk, for example, causing a fire, and since the devices are locked and inaccessible to users in order to protect them.
However, to measure or suspend the current, it has to be diverted through elements which will exhibit a certain impedance. Having regard to the current and the voltage involved (up to 20 A at 230V on 5 pathways), the instantaneous power to be passively dissipated is of the order of 100 to 200 W, this being extremely high in the limited space considered (such as for example in the typical case of products integrated into an electrical board).
Existing devices are unsatisfactory: they are too large, or do not enable the current to be measured and/or suspended for more than one line.
The invention improves the situation.